While the current heat wave in New England has everyone either running into the air conditioning, or jumping in a pool, this extreme heat is not the norm for our area. Outdoor spring and summer days in New England are long awaited and usually beautiful.

If you enjoy entertaining in your backyard, you may already have a deck with a casual dining area and a grill to cook traditional summer meals like hamburgers and hot dogs.

As you’ve been enjoying your backyard this summer, have you been wishing you had a real outdoor kitchen for al fresco family meals and summer parties? Kitchen Views now sells Wolf Endurance cabinetry, specifically made for outdoor kitchens.

Kitchen Views at National Lumber enjoyed hosting our first EM NARI Networking event on April 16 along with co-host Allstate Glass. Two of our PRO Force salesmen, who specialize in working with remodelers, were there discussing current building projects.

Steven Kaitz (right), owner of National Lumber at the EM NARI Networking Event in the Kitchen Views showroom, Mansfield, MA

The night was filled with food, drinks and fantastic company. We had big winners too! Nancy from Masters Touch won a gift certificate to Closet factory. Dave from Home Repairs Carpentry in Norwood won a gift certificate to Allstate Glass, and Dave from Miller Construction won a Häfele tool kit and gift certificate for their product line.

But the biggest winner is the EM NARI scholarship fund. Annually, a scholarship is awarded to an immediate family member of an EM NARI member who is a high school graduating senior who has been accepted as a full-time student to an accredited college or university in any program of study. Thanks to everyone who attended we collected $800 for the scholarship fund.

Builders had a chance to see many of the new products going into kitchens now. Many of them feel the market for remodeling is strengthening. Adding these products to any renovation is sure to add value to a customer’s home.

Mike McDole, National Lumber’s Senior Vice President of Sales, speaking to a guest at the EM NARI Networking Event in the Kitchen Views showroom.

We are looking forward to another networking night! We invite you to check National Lumber’s website Events page, national-lumber.com/events, periodically to see what’s coming up.

With days more of arctic cold forecast across New England, many of us will be keeping cozy indoors. To help pass the time, Kitchen Views has several PDFs of our design magazines available on our website at http://www.kitchenviews.com/magazine/index.html. You might also like to look through our True Stories section and see videos of our clients talking about their design journeys with Kitchen Views.

A recent online survey done by remodelormove.com shows that American consumers are feeling more confident in spending money toward home improvement projects. The survey had 5,000 participants who answered a range of approximately 70 questions to determine if the majority would rather move or remodel. Every participant showed interest in making some sort of improvement to their current home. The results show consumers are willing to spend around 30% of their home’s value for the home improvements.

With long-term value being a factor in remodeling, homeowners are willing to use more expensive materials in their projects. A majority, 74% responded that they plan to hire a general contractor to do the work, rather than undertaking projects themselves. Along with hiring construction professionals, more than half of the respondents plan to hire an architect. Homeowners are planning their projects on a larger scale and are including multiple rooms, and will be better served having professionals to oversee the project.

The percentage of homeowners planning to do a kitchen remodel is right above the halfway mark at 55%. Kitchen remodels are taking precedence over baths, according to the survey, and this is where consumers are willing to invest more of their budget. Since the contemporary kitchen is the hub of family activities, this is really an investment in improving family life.

Kitchen Views at National Lumber has experienced designers to serve you through every phase of your remodeling projects. We can supply you with the building supplies you need and the services you deserve. Those services include getting to know the unique needs of your family. Your particular tastes and lifestyle are factored into the design. We strive to exceed your expectations. One of our designers will follow the project from concept to completion. Kitchen Views at National Lumber, where the designers are pros and the views are yours!

“Where the designers are pros, and the views are yours.” That is our motto here at Kitchen Views. We are here to design for you with integrity and the highest quality products possible.

This summer, we hosted an open house style RV showroom displaying counter materials from Cosentino. They drove to Mansfield and parked their RV in our lot and were there to meet with designers, builders, and homeowners about their different product lines. Most recently, the KV designers met with various vendors to see what is trending for 2014. Here are a couple of examples from the evening.

Cabinets – The designers at KV joined cabinet dealers to take a look at new product on the NKBA‘s Boston Harbor Cruise. Cabinet vendors showed the designers the new textured doors and rich grays that are available for 2014. Kitchen Views stays ahead of the curve by making sure new product is available to customers right away. Contractors that work with KV enjoy the fact that their customers are getting the most current products on the market.

Counters – Countertop material has changed dramatically in the marketplace. New finish processes prevent staining more than ever. The designers tested the new SileStone Suede finish by attempting to scratch and stain it.

Each designer took a different approach to test the material to make sure customers were going to be satisfied with overall durability. Some attempted to scratch it with glass, knifes and tile. Others tried to stain it with cherries, red wine and soda. The product performed exceptionally well and KV will be displaying the new product in the Newton store next month. These types of meetings give the designers a real trial of how these products will perform in the field.

KV Designers John Allen and Lee Turner converse with Jim and Merry from Cosentino about the quality of their new product line.

It is our duty to those we service to research various products and find those that consistently match the quality we expect to deliver to our customers.

If you would like more information on how our designers can assist you, or if you have questions on the products we carry, feel free to visit or call a Kitchen Views showroom closest to you, or visit our website at kitchenviews.com.

The relationship between kitchen designer and homeowner is like a marriage. You’ll spend a lot of time together, revealing intimate details of your home life and sharing your most hopeful kitchen dreams. If the chemistry works, the result can be a creative, beautiful experience. If not… a possible disaster.

So how do you find an expert kitchen designer who knows his or her way around the project and can help guide you through the entire process, from choosing cabinets to finding a builder? Take some advice from designer Jamie Thibeault, who knows his way around construction sites.

“Ask friends and family who they used for kitchen design and if they would use him or her again. Then ask those designers for other references you can speak with. If they can’t give you any, that’s a red flag. Ask to see other projects, one in progress, which will show you how things are going at a job site, and one from five years ago so you can see how it’s holding up,” says this straight-talking designer.

The next step is to do a gut check for chemistry.

“See if there’s a connection when you speak with them, and make sure they’re really listening to what you’re asking. Ask yourself if you feel they’ll be there for you every step of the way. Anyone can sell you a cabinet. You want more than that, you want a designer who understands your point of view.”

Ask about their background too – many of the best designers have an abundance of experience in the construction trades, architectural or engineering firms. For example, Jamie is a Master electrician who filled in designing kitchens when his wife went on maternity leave 18 years ago. He fell in love with the job and today he works closely with builders and contractors on all kinds of kitchens, from custom homes to multiple-lot subdivisions.

“Knowing my way around construction projects and time-frames definitely gives me insider knowledge that is helpful when planning kitchens,” he says.

Another way to evaluate a designer is to look at project photos. The bonus: you might pick up a few new ideas for your own project along the way!

As a Professional Kitchen Designer, I like to discuss with my clients how they use their kitchen. In my own kitchen I do most of the cooking, so I set up my kitchen to fit my needs. For instance, I have a favorite old spice rack that I keep to the right of the stove — at my fingertips. That works great for me, but might not necessarily work for you.

The design stage is the time to think about how you use your kitchen. It costs you nothing to make changes at this stage of the game, so ask as many questions as possible and change as many things as needed during this phase. Once construction has begun, or worse yet after the cabinets are installed, it can be very costly to make changes at that point.

So when you meet with a kitchen designer, talk to them about how you like your kitchen set-up. Think about things like the locations of spices, pots, pans, dishes, silverware, recycling, trash, etc. Don’t be afraid to say that you need advice on making your new kitchen work better than your old kitchen — that’s what a designer specializes in doing. But the designer needs to know your priorities and preferences. Other things to think about: a place for mail, and a place to plug in cell phones to charge out of the way. Write it all down before you meet with your designer so they can better serve your needs in your kitchen.

Another helpful thing to do is visualization. I tell my clients to picture themselves at their new stove and to think about what they would like to have at their fingertips. How do you want pots, pans and covers organized? Or, when at the sink, do you have a drawer for dish towels? Do you want the dishwasher on the right or the left? Where are dishes, silverware and glasses stored once they are washed?

At Kitchen Views, our designers will provide you with detailed, computer-generated renderings of the plans. Take home the initial design and walk around the space with the plans. Visualize how the new layout will work for daily tasks. Was there something you forgot to mention to the designer? If you realize that you have questions, or are certain that a change is needed, mark up your plans and go over it again with your designer.

With the right guidance, your kitchen will be designed to meet your needs. Depending on the space available, you might not fit everything you want into your space. But, you won’t have to second guess yourself after your kitchen is completed, because you’ll know that you went through it all with a designer that understood your needs and you made the best choices.